Friday, March 04, 2011

MACON, Ga. – Victoria McGowan’s desperation shot from around 55 feet swished in as time expired to save No. 2 seed Stetson from an upset-minded No. 6 seed Belmont Bruins, 48-46, in the semifinals of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Basketball Championship.

Both teams felt the full gamut of emotions in the waning seconds of the ball game.

The two teams played close the entire day, with neither leading by more than six points at any time during the game. As the clock ticked down to 13 seconds – and with Belmont down 45-43 – the Bruins’ (12-19) Shaunda Strayhorn dribbled the length of the court and made a driving layup and was fouled by Simone Taylor with just 1.4 seconds showing on the clock. Strayhorn calmly drilled the free throw to put BU ahead, 46-45.

The Hatters’ (19-12) Tierra Brown quickly inbounded the ball on the right-hand side to teammate McGowan who caught the ball, dribbled and launched the perfect strike that drew nothing but net. After the officials reviewed the play and subsequently confirmed the basket was good, the announcement set off a Stetson celebration.

McGowan finished with a game-high 22 points, while Brown added 14. Natasha Grabowski had a team-leading 10 rebounds for Stetson. Belmont’s Haley Nelson had a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Tristan Daniel added eight points off the Bruins’ bench.

The Hatters will be making their third appearance in the A-Sun title game, having won the championship on both previous occasions in 1989 and 2005. Stetson faces No. 3 seed Jacksonville, which toppled No. 1 seed ETSU in the first semifinal game of the day.

Follow the Atlantic Sun Basketball Championships on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.